Saif bin Sultan () was the fourth of the Yaruba dynasty Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1692 to 1711. Where Omani presence became firmly established on the coast.

Early years

Saif bin Sultan was the son of the second Yaruba Imam,

Sultan bin Saif Sultan bin Saif bin Malik () (died c. 1679) was the second of the Yaruba dynasty of Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1649 to 1679. He completed the work of his predecessor, Nasir bin Murshid, in driving the Portuguese out of ...

. On his father's death his brother Bil'arab bin Sultan became Imam in 1679. Later Saif bin Sultan fell out with his brother, built up his forces and besieged Bil'arab in Jabrin. After Bil'arab died there in 1692/93 Saif bin Sultan became Imam.

Imam

Saif bin Sultan invested in improving agriculture, building aflaj in many parts of the interior to provide water, and planting date palms in the Al Batinah Region to encourage Arabs to move from the interior and settle along the coast. He built new schools. He made the castle of Rustaq his residence, adding the Burj al Riah wind tower. Saif bin Sultan continued the struggle against the Portuguese on the East African coast. In 1696 his forces attacked Mombasa, besieging 2,500 people who had taken refuge in Fort Jesus. The

Siege of Fort Jesus The siege of Fort Jesus was an attack on the Portuguese fort of Fort Jesus at Mombasa by the army of the Ya'rubid ruler of Oman, Saif I bin Sultan, from 13 March 1696 to 13 December 1698. Siege The Yarubid dynasty had been expanding since the ...

ended after 33 months when the thirteen survivors of famine and smallpox surrendered. Soon after the Omanis took Pemba Island,

Kilwa Kilwa Kisiwani (English: ''Kilwa Island'') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. K ...

and Zanzibar. They now became the dominant power on the coast. The expansion of Omani power included the first large-scale settlement of Zanzibar by Omani migrants. Saif bin Sultan appointed Arab governors to the city states of the coast before he returned to Oman. Later, many of these were to come under the control of Muhammed bin Uthman al-Mazrui, governor of Mombasa, and his descendants, the Mazrui, who made only nominal acknowledgement of the suzerainty of Oman. Saif bin Sultan also encouraged piracy against the merchant trade of India, Persia and even of Europe.

Death and legacy

Saif bin Sultan died on 4 October 1711. He was buried in the castle of Rustaq in a handsome tomb, later destroyed by a Wahhabi general. At his death he had great wealth, said to include 28 ships, 700 male slaves and one third of Oman's date trees. He was succeeded by his son

Sultan bin Saif II Sultan bin Saif II () was the fifth of the Yaruba dynasty of Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1711 to 1718. After his death, leaving a young son as his successor, the country degenerated into civil war. Sultan bin Saif II s ...

. Saif bin Sultan earned the title "the Earth's bond" or "the chain of the Earth" for the benefits he had brought to the people of Oman. According to Samuel Barrett Miles,

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saif Bin Sultan Omani monarchy Omani imams Omani Ibadi Muslims 1711 deaths Yaruba dynasty People from Al-Rustaq Year of birth unknown 17th-century Arabs 18th-century Arabs 17th-century Omani people 18th-century Omani people